Monthly Archives: July 2007

The Danish military evacuation from Iraq is nearly complete. Of the 470 troops only 150 still remain and those will be out of Iraq by mid-August. The Danish forces are also taking with them over 200 Iraqi translators who helped them and are now subject to death from terrorist groups.

Mr. & Mmrs. Lacey are instituting legal action against the Veteran’s Administration for failure to provide their son with help for mental problems after he returned home from Iraq. They took their son to a VA hospital, but hospital officials refused to give an assessment until their son was alcohol free. They went home and their son hung himself in the cellar.

The Lacey’s are members of “Families Speak Out” which consists of Iraq war families whose son or daughter or husband suffers from the tour in Iraq. Bush is so eager to boast about concern for soldiers, but his administration has done little to help those who suffered in his crazy war.

A few weeks ago, CBS aired a segment about American soldiers entering an Iraq orphanage and rescuing over two dozen children who apparently were emaciated and mistreated. Swedish TV reporters refused to believe the story and insisted the Americans were lying about helping the children. No effort was even made to interview the CBS reporter, Lara Logan, who broke the story. Instead, Swedish TV reporters talked with a Swedish journalism professor about the accuracy of the film footage.

America for years will have to live with the Bush legacy which has cast doubt about the veracity of Americans. People in the world have heard so many Bush lies they are no longer capable of accepting a good deed on the part of US soldiers. There is something sad and tragic about what Bush has done to America’s reputation.

French police raided a Muslim run summer camp and closed it down after receiving evidence children were being compelled to engage in continuous religious indoctrination as well as learning about Turkish culture. French authorities noted the camp had never received any official documents to function. French authorities tend to be extremely sensitive concerning issues of child abuse and a major reason for the raid was fear the children were not only being mentally abused but physically.

Ironically, as the Chinese economy booms and living standards rise dramatically there has been a corresponding increase in forced labor and sexual exploitation. According to Yin Jianzhong, of the Ministry of Public Security: “Forced labor and sexual exploitation are the two new outcomes of human trafficking.” One factor is the push upon people living in rural China to migrate to cities is continually increasing as wage disparities grow between urban and rural areas.

Back in the days of communist China, peasants toiled the field and starved. Now, there are opportunities for economic improvement, but the price for peasants is being exploited by urban con men.

Bachan Athwal, a 70 year-old Sikh woman became furious when her daughter in law asked for a divorce from her husband after entering an extra marital affair with a fellow worker. The mother-in-law boasted to her friends that she had arranged for a strangulation of her daughter-in-law and then had the body thrown in a river. The body has never been recovered.

As she was led away, the woman screamed that the jury was a bunch of liars. Honor killings continue happening because people in certain groups have a pre-conceived ideal regarding what is a marriage. Unfortunately, their ideal doesn’t always match modern life.

The Iranian government continues holding in prison prominent social scientists like Klau Tajbakhish who played a prominent role in assisting Iran in rebuilding after earthquakes in 2003. He was also asked by the same government which now has him in prison to conduct a three year study of urban affairs. The imprisonment of such people indicates there is division within the Iranian government regarding future developments regarding basic freedoms. Why would a government hire a social scientist to develop plans and then put him in prison as a spy for America and Israel? This makes no sense and suggests there are hidden factors such as differences between hard liners and those seeking some reform.

Bush does not help reformers by continually attacking the Iranian government. Such rhetoric plays into the hands of more totalitarian members of the clergy and government.

The Canadian Tory party which represents more conservative aspects of the nation is attempting to pass legislation which would extend human rights to native populations. Unfortunately, many native people don’t want the human rights which might clash with historic communal ways of life. They also fear implementing new human rights would be costly and beyond their capabilities.

Question: Who decides when human rights should be implemented — government or the people who are effected by the legislation? It is a complex issue.

Congressional Democrats are challenging President Bush by approving a 3.5% raise under threat it faces a veto due to the high amount. Bush wants a 3% raise. The new legislation protects veterans in several ways; it provides free medical care for three years after leaving service for those who have been wounded, creates a common assessment system to evaluate disability claims, and makes it difficult for the military to deny mental health problems on grounds of pre-existing conditions.

Perhaps, Michael Moore might wish to make a film about how the military and Veterans Affairs Department under Bush have been consistently screwing our veterans and those wounded in combat.

General Ray Odierno, who is conducting military operations against al-Qaeda in Iraq disagreed with President Bush’s recent claim that either we fight them over there or al-Qaeda will be coming over here to the United States. According to General Odierno, “I think it’s be very difficult for them to export any violence outside of Iraq.” Bush scare tactics may come across to a certain element of the American population, but they fall flat when confronted by the reality of what our troops encounter in Iraq.

Every piece of evidence emerging from Iraq is that terrorist forces are moving from one area to another in response to American military tactics. Just as American forces believe they have cleared a region of insurgents, they discover the enemy has gone somewhere else. As General Odierno claims about military operations, we “have really just started.” So, what has been happening these past four years if we have just started?